"Do you know," said Mrs. Dole, confidentially, "I shouldn't be surprised
if that was intended to be clever."

"Have you any one interesting coming to stay with you, Mrs. Norbury?"
asked the chinchilla voice, hastily; "you generally have a house party at
this time of year."

"I've got a most interesting woman coming," said Mrs. Norbury, who had
been mutely struggling for some chance to turn the conversation into a
safe channel; "an old acquaintance of mine, Ada Bleek--"

"What an ugly name," said Mrs. Hatch-Mallard.

"She's descended from the de la Bliques, an old Huguenot family of
Touraine, you know."

"There weren't any Huguenots in Touraine," said Mrs. Hatch-Mallard, who
thought she might safely dispute any fact that was three hundred years
old.

"Well, anyhow, she's coming to stay with me," continued Mrs. Norbury,
bringing her story quickly down to the present day, "she arrives this
evening, and she's highly clairvoyante, a seventh daughter of a seventh
daughter, you now, and all that sort of thing."

"How very interesting," said the chinchilla voice; "Exwood is just the
right place for her to come to, isn't it? There are supposed to be
several ghosts there."